It Takes a Village to Conserve a Coat, Part II

In Part I of this blog we told the remarkable story of the Bacheler coat, which was given to the City of Gloucester by Albert Bacheler. The former high school principal received the life-saving garment from an African American after escaping from the notorious Libby Prison in Richmond, VA, during the Civil War. 
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George and Charles King raised all of the funds for conservation of the coat.

​After the initial deinfestation with chlorine dioxide to kill mold spores, the coat was thoroughly vacuumed with a high-efficiency filtered vacuum and a micro-suction tool. During this meticulous process, the coat began to reveal its secrets. It is a double-breasted tailcoat with a grey linsey-woolsey plain-weave exterior and undyed cotton plain-weave lining. The grey color comes from the combination of a blue wool weft and brown cotton warp. This modest fabric choice tells us this was likely made as an every-day coat, whether it came to its African-American owner new or second hand.

Photo by MTS.

Immediately apparent to the viewer is the tattered state of the coat and the fact that it has been much repaired. ​​The lining is visible through numerous tears, holes, and open seams. Both sets of buttons on the front are worn and mended, and three of the four buttons that originally adorned the tails are missing, leaving behind only the threads that once attached them.​ The lower sleeves are patched with a brown and tan twill-weave homespun. All of this is evidence tell the story of hard labor and thrift. The proper-left tail and adjacent front panel are torn off but not repaired, perhaps because they were damaged while the coat was in Bacheler's possession.   

Photo by MTS.

​After eighty years folded sideways and pressed into a narrow frame, the coat needed multiple rounds of humidification to relax creases and folds, and correct long-ingrained distortions. Realigning the torn fabrics then allowed us to determine which tears and holes posed a threat to the overall stability of the coat, and which could be left to bear testimony to the arduous journey Bacheler took to reunite with his battalion. Hand stitching and a minimum of cotton support patches were employed before the coat was deemed fit for display.

Our Andover Figures manikin.

​Next we constructed a custom Andover Figures manikin that supports the coat. When the manikin was dressed, the image of the African-American who owned the coat immediately came to mind. Who was this generous man? The cut of the tailcoat forced his shoulders back and would have looked formal with the double-breasted closure, despite being made of every-day fabrics. Was it passed from a land-owner to a slave, who then wore it in a house or out in the fields? Or was it purchased new by a free man. The generations of repairs certainly suggest that the coat was an essential garment to its owner. And it later became essential to the survival of a Lieutenant in the Union Army, whose service made possible the freedom of thousands.

​ “This coat is a symbol of our community veterans’ commitment to our nation and to the citizens of Gloucester. Principal Albert Bacheler served our country in time of need and returned home to influence the next generation of students as a teacher and principal. He took his experience and incorporated it into his lesson plan. Through the use of his coat he taught his students of compassion and determination above all odds. The legacy of Principal Bacheler remains even today as our community joins together towards the preservation of his tangible legacy and to ensure that future generations of students and adults remember the lessons of Principal Bacheler.” 

Adam Curcuru, District Director of Cape Ann Veterans Services ​

Front of coat, after conservation. Photo by MTS.

​The coat will be installed at Gloucester High School in 2017, and the legacy of principal Bacheler will live on. Museum Textile Services wishes to thank the Gloucester Committee for the Arts, the City of Gloucester, Charles and George King, and the many donors who made this preservation project possible.
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Camille Myers Breeze founded Museum Textile services in 1999. She is a prolific author, and educator of museum personnel and emerging conservation professionals in the US and abroad.